Dissident Altona Energy PLC shareholders failed in their bid to oust Qinfu Zhang and Chi Ma as directors, according to a Jan. 14 release.

The company said the resolutions calling for their removal were not passed in a same-day general meeting requisitioned by shareholders Leon Hogan, Nicholas Lyth and Robert Hales, who collectively own about a 15% stake in the company.

Zhang, through a representative, reiterated that the company should focus on coal mining and underground coal gasification at its 45%-owned Arckaringa coal project in South Australia.

He added that he recently recommended that the board invest in a vanadium mine in China, where he has a more than a 40% interest. With projected high profit margins, he said it will help Altona secure funds to further develop Arckaringa.